Scrooged rated PG-13 for brief nudity, some violence/gore, language, thematic material, and some drug use

As stated in an earlier post, there are many variations on the classic story of A Christmas Carol.  Although this film takes place in the 1980s, this version is the first of the more contemporary takes on the story.  There is more emphasis on humor in this picture which is probably what makes it one of the more preferred variations on Dickens' Christmas story.

In this version the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is portrayed instead as TV producer Frank Cross (played by Bill Murray).  Frank is attempting to successfully film a live production of A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve no less.  He has no consideration for the fact that he is making people work on Christmas Eve.  His focus is on excellent ratings. He is so focused on ratings that, when he is told by a worker named Eliot Loudermilk (played by Bobcat Goldthwait)  that his tv promo caused a woman to die of a heart attack, he is pleased because he considers that to be a case of any press is good press.  Eliot gets fired on Christmas Eve after he tries to gently and respectfully suggest that the tv promo doesn't promote the spirit of Christmas.

After Frank gets frustrated from dealing with various snafus including having trouble with the censors,  trying to keep his smarmy rival Brice Cummings (played by John Glover) at bay, etc. Frank retreats to his office for a breather.  While in his office, the "Jacob Marley" of this picture,  Frank's former mentor Lew Hayward (played by John Forsythe) visits Frank and tells him that he will be visited by three spirits this night.  Frank initially scoffs just like the original Ebenezer.  Like the original Jacob Marley does to Ebenezer Scrooge,  Lew scares Frank into taking him seriously.  When Frank comes to, he is alone and convinces himself that it was just a dream.

Frank rejoins the production crew.  After getting fed up with the cast and crew, he retreats from the building.  At this time he meets the first spirit, the Spirit of Christmas Past in the form of a gruff taxi driver (played by David Johansen).  After his time with the Ghost of Christmas Past is finished, Frank finds himself back at the studio disrupting the production as it were.

And so it goes.  Frank has encounters with the subsequent Spirits and always finds himself back at the studio, usually disrupting the production.  Like the original Ebenezer, Frank learns about the Spirit of Christmas and determines to change.  The differences that were incorporated in this picture made sense and were all nice touches that added their own flair without taking away from the story.

All of the cast was excellent.  Robert Mitchum performs a brief role in the form of Frank's boss Preston Rhinelander.  Karen Allen is her usual adorably charming self as Frank's love interest Claire Phillips.  Finally,  Carol Kane is my personal favorite Christmas Spirit as the hilarious Ghost of Christmas Present.

There are some unexpectedly gory moments particularly revolving around Frank's mentor Lew.  Also, the Ghost of Christmas Future is at its most frightening in this version I think.

A Christmas Carol aka Scrooge (1951) Not Rated

Christmas isn't the same in my opinion without watching at least one film version of Charles Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol.  Fortunately there are many to choose from depending on personal preference.  In my opinion, this version is the best.

It's a bitterly cold Christmas Eve in Victorian London.  Scrooge (played by Alastair Sim) goes about his usual business.  Anyone who tries to share Christmas Spirit with him or even remind him that it is Christmas Eve is treated with scorn and annoyance.  For anyone who actually dares to say "Merry Christmas!" to him, he promptly replies with a resounding "Bah!  Humbug!"

 His unfortunate clerk Bob Cratchit (played by Mervyn Johns) works while struggling to fend off the cold in his office and keep his own Christmas Spirit in the face of his boss's seeming hatred of Christmas and all things associated with Christmas.  At the day's end, Scrooge begrudgingly gives Bob Christmas off but demands Bob come in "all the earlier" the following day.  Afterwards Scrooge leaves for home.  

While Scrooge gets ready for bed that evening, he is visited by the ghost of his old similarly miserly partner Jacob Marley (played by Michael Hordern).  In the years since his untimely passing, Marley has been suffering both because he was such a miser in his lifetime but also because he has apparently been trying to reach out to humanity help.  He has been specifically reaching out to Scrooge to try to help Scrooge not meet the same fate as himself.  In his efforts to help Scrooge, Marley has managed to make it so that Scrooge will be visited by three spirits.  

As Marley promised, Scrooge is visited by The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, and the terrifying Ghost of Christmas Future.  Through the visions that the respective ghosts show to Scrooge it is hoped that he will turn from his current path and become a better person who has Christmas Spirit throughout the year.  In other words, a person who focuses more on helping people instead of being a miser in all ways.   

All of the cast is wonderful but Alastair Sim does a particularly excellent job bringing to life the miserly Scrooge.  It seems that he set the bar with this performance for the subsequent Scrooges that followed.  

If you haven't seen this version yet, I would strongly advise seeing it.  Fortunately it is such a beloved classic that it is usually shown on cable tv networks at least once during the Christmas season.  

Christmas Land rated G ***spoilers***

As I stated in a previous post, I like that Hallmark Channel does Christmas movies every year.  I enjoy many of the movies and generally give many of the movies a chance.  Some movies are hit or miss.  Others, like this one, fall somewhere in the middle in my opinion.

Successful New York businesswoman Jules (played by Nikki Deloach) inherits a successful Christmas tree farm complete with Christmas-themed shops/town from her Aunt Glinda (played by Maureen McCormick).  Even though Jules had happy childhood memories associated with her time at Christmas Land, Jules decides to sell the property as soon as she can find a buyer.  She starts to have second thoughts after she spends some time in Christmas Land and spends time with Tucker (Luke Macfarlane).  After being presented with a generous offer from a guy named Mason (played by Richard Karn) and feeling the pressure from her boyfriend Mitchell (played by Jason-Shane Scott) Jules makes a decision that could potentially have devastating consequences for Christmas Land and the people who love and work at Christmas Land.  Can Jules somehow fix the mess that she created?  Will she choose Tucker or Mitchell?  Will Jules keep Christmas Land?

This movie was all right and worth watching if you are curious.  It fell a bit short in the chemistry between the two leads and in my caring for Jules and what happens to Jules and Christmas Land.

The Legend of Hell House rated PG

This was a film that I came across while flipping channels.  The first time that I came across it, the movie was about halfway through so I saw no point in picking up in the middle.  The second time I was able to watch the whole movie all the way through.

This film tells of a team consisting of a physicist named Dr. Lionel Barrett (played by Clive Revill), his wife Ann Barrett (played by Gayle Hunnicutt), a "non-physical" medium named Florence Tanner (played by Pamela Franklin) and a "physical" medium named Benjamin Fischer (played by Roddy McDowall) who are going to a large estate in the English countryside infamously referred to as  "Hell House" to investigate the possibility of life after death.  They have been selected by a Mr. Deutsch (played by Roland Culver) to spend a week at "Hell House" to find and bring back proof that there is either life after death or not.

The estate is referred to as "Hell House" because of the events that have taken place at the estate including many deaths, acts of debauchery, witchcraft, etc.  The last team that tried to investigate the house had only one survivor, Benjamin Fischer and he is said to have become unbalanced as a result of his experiences.

Things start out ok but from the moment the group enters the house there is an apparent "atmosphere" of unease and darkness that rapidly progresses to horror.  The two women are the ones who are initially the most afflicted by whatever seems to be haunting the house.

Dr. Barrett is determined that there is no actual haunting but rather that the "atmosphere" is due to energy caused by the events of that occurred inside of the house.  Florence is adamant that there is a haunting.  Benjamin seems closed off.  Ann is conflicted.  When mysterious events start happening and the events take on more frightening aspects, everyone's ideas and perceptions are put to the test.

This is an excellent atmospheric horror movie.  There is almost no blood and very little violence.  The "scares" aren't the typical "jump scares" that we see quite frequently in many recent horror pictures.  The acting is all around very good.  The story was well thought out and well executed.  While this is an older picture, I think that it has stood the test of time well.  I liked that they tried to add a scientific aspect to this horror movie as opposed to just pure horror.  It is interesting to note that this is probably one of the first scary movies that featured science in it.  There was an interesting level of respect shown to the mediums in this picture and it felt like the filmmakers were portraying mediums with emphasis on the scientific side rather than the "metaphysical" side which is different.

Krampus rated PG-13 for sequences of horror violence/terror, language, and some drug material

I was curious about this picture because I like horror films to an extent and this one looked promising. I was a little confused by the cast specifically Adam Scott  playing Tom the dad in a horror picture.  I always associate Adam  Scott with comedy so I assumed that, because he is in this movie, there must be elements of comedy in it.  I wasn't completely wrong.

Krampus tells of a somewhat dysfuntional family getting together for Christmas.  As I said earlier, Adam Scott plays Tom the dad of the "more normal" half of the family.  He and his wife Sarah (played by Toni Collette) along with their two children Beth (played by Stefania LaVie Owen) and Max (played by Emjay Anthony) and Tom's mother called Omi (played by Krista Stadler) are all awaiting and dreading the arrival of their relatives Howard (played by David Koechner), his wife Linda (played by Allison Tolman), their children Howie Jr. (played by Maverick Flack, Jordan (played by Queenie Samuel), Stevie (played by Lolo Owen) and Baby Chrissy (played by Sage Hunefeld).  Along for the ride is Aunt Dorothy (played by Conchata Ferrell).

As the family is gathered for Christmas, poor Max is struggling to hold onto his Christmas spirit.  After he feels that he is humiliated in front of his family by his obnoxious cousins Jordan and Stevie reading aloud his letter to Santa Claus, Max angrily goes to his room with the letter clutched in his hand.  In a fit of anger, he tears up the letter and loses his Christmas spirit.  Unbeknownst to him, he has unintentionally released the wrath of the vengeful spirit of Krampus and Max and his family will suffer accordingly.

What starts out as an annoying and inconvenient snow storm quickly turns into a blizzard of horror as the family tries to stick together as they fight for their lives on this dark and cold Christmas.  When the truth of what is happening comes out, Omi tells the story of Krampus as she is familiar with it from her childhood.  Just as Santa Claus gives, Krampus takes.  Krampus utilizes familiar Christmas symbols as well as his own band of elves to punish those who lose their Christmas spirit.  So it is up to the family to try to survive the night and hopefully evade Krampus' fury.

Someone who saw this movie compared it to  Gremlins as far as how scary it is.  I also heard from more than one person that the story unfolds in an unexpected way.  I agree on the second statement.  While this picture is rated PG-13 it might be too frightening for younger children.  It definitely has some comedy to it but I feel that it is much darker than Gremlins.

It is a better movie than I expected.  The actors were all very good.  The story and concept were frightening.  I like that they made this movie because it is different.  I also like that this movie tells of the darker side of Christmas.  I was only vaguely familiar with the darker side of Christmas and I'm not sure how much of this film is based on traditional folklore and how much is just pure imagination from some talented writers.  Either way I enjoyed this film and I recommend it especially if you want a change from the usual Christmas movies although not for younger children.

Dr. Strange rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action throughout, and an intense car crash sequence

I was keen to see this picture both because it looked good and because it stars Benedict Cumberbatch.  I confess I wasn't sure how well he would hold his own as Dr. Strange in the world of the Avengers in comparison to the rest of the Avengers.  I shouldn't have had any doubts.

As stated above, Benedict Cumberbatch stars as a talented neurosurgeon named Dr. Stephen Strange.  After a car accident, Dr. Strange struggles to first accept his condition and to find his place in life.  In a fit of desperation, he travels across the world to Katmandu to find what he thinks is a secret cure for his condition.  Instead he unexpectedly discovers the world of magic and other dimensions under the direct tutelage of Mordo (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor).  Mordo is both a student and instructor of the teachings and practices of The Ancient One (played by Tilda Swinton).  During Dr. Strange's instruction he is cautioned about learning beyond his level so to speak and is told about Kaecilius (played by Mads Mikkelsen).  Kaecilius leads a group of zealots who oppose the Ancient One.

As Dr. Strange is continuing his education, the center is attacked by  Kaecilius and his zealots.  During and after the attack Dr. Strange begins to fully understand and appreciate the Ancient One's teachings and finds a reserve of strength that he didn't realize he had.

I heard this picture summed up/described as "while the Avengers are fighting in the physical realm i.e. the front door, Dr. Strange fights in the non physical realm and defends our back door".  I think that that is a very apt description of this character and parts of this movie.

I chose to watch this film in 3-D and found it well worth it if you have the opportunity and can watch 3-D pictures.  Visually it was lovely.  The acting was great all around.  The story was interesting and fairly easy to follow.  I liked that there was a nice blend of humor and seriousness throughout this movie.

V/H/S rated R for graphic nudity, bloody violence, strong sexuality, pervasive language, and some drug use

This is one of my favorite found footage films.  They utilized first person pov perspective in this film and this might be the first found footage film to use first person pov perspective in it.

At the beginning of this film in "Tape 56", we meet a group of miscreants who are making money filming themselves randomly attacking women to expose the women's breasts.  One of the guys named Gary (played by Calvin Reader) tells them about a job that promises to quickly pay them more money versus them continuing their filming women's exposed breasts.  According to Gary they are hired by a mystery person to break into a house where an old man supposedly lives and to find and steal a specific vhs tape located in the house.

The "job" begins without a hitch.  When they initially enter the house, they encounter no one and all is quiet.  They do notice a peculiar smell but otherwise don't think anything unusual is happening.  As they are securing the house, they come across the corpse of the old man sitting in his chair in his living room.  Interestingly enough, there are a bunch of tvs that are on and there is a large pile of vhs tapes in the living room.

The guys decide to continue to search the house while Brad (played by Adam Wingard) is ordered to check the tapes in the living room.  He is understandably reluctant to left alone with the corpse but another guy named Rox (played by Kentucker Audley)overrides his concerns and Brad is left alone in the living room.  In order to figure out which tape is the sought-after tape, Brad starts playing the various tapes.

The majority of the rest of V/H/S consists of different unrelated stories that Brad is presumably watching in his quest for the tape.   After each story is finished, the film bounces back to the guys in "Tape 56".  With each bounce back to "Tape 56" things get stranger and creepier.  It is apparent that something or someone is in the house with the guys and they don't appear to have good intentions.

In the first segment called "Amateur Night" we meet three young men Shane (played by Mike Donlan), Patrick (played by Joe Sykes), and Clint (played by Drew Sawyer) who are getting ready to head out to bars and clubs.  Clint happens to be wearing a pair of glasses that has a camera discreetly built into the frame.  The object is for Clint to film "tits and asses" that Shane and Patrick score as the night progresses.  While they are out, Clint meets a young woman named Lily (played by Hannah Fierman).  She seems very fixated on Clint and keeps telling Clint that she likes him.  As the guys keep going to various bars and clubs Lily keeps showing up and always hones in on Clint to tell him that she likes him.  As it turns out she isn't as sweet as she looks and the men's excitement quickly turns to horror after she goes with them back to their place.

In the second segment called "Second Honeymoon" we meet a young couple, germaphobic Sam (played by Joe Swanberg) and Stephanie (played by Sophia Takal) who are on a road trip through a desert area probably the American Southwest.  While on the road trip the couple starts to have unsettling experiences like loud mysterious knocks on their hotel room door at night and things getting moved around in their hotel room.  Also someone is filming them as they sleep at night but who and what their intentions are is disturbing and surprising.

In the third segment called "Tuesday the 17th) we meet a group of four young people on a trip to the lake.  The group consists of Wendy (played by Norma C. Quinones), Samantha (played by Jeannine Elizabeth Yoder), Spider (played by Jason Yachanin) and Joey (played by Drew Moerlein).  Wendy organizes the trip and at first her friends are lulled into a false sense of security.  Wendy is initally very mysterious about why she wants to go to the lake at this particular time.  As the group walks to the lake, Joey sees some crazy things in his camera like dead people.  Wendy mysteriously states that everyone is going to die up here.  After Joey asks Wendy about what she said earlier,  Wendy tells of how she had four friends who were killed at this lake some years ago.  The group is skeptical of Wendy partly because she laughs after telling them her story.  Is Wendy telling the truth?  Is the killer still at the lake ready to strike again?  If so, will anyone survive?

In the fourth segment called "The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger" we meet Emily (played by Helen Rogers) and her boyfriend James (played by Daniel Kaufman).  They are long distance dating.  Emily tells James that she has a strange ache in her forearm and she is hearing strange footsteps in her apartment at night.  She promises to call him when she hears the footsteps again and so she does.  While she is talking to James, a child comes into Emily's room and slams the door.  Naturally Emily is convinced that her apartment is haunted.  Later, during a conversation, Emily and James refer to an incident that happened when Emily was younger.  As it turns out things aren't what they seem and Emily might be dealing with something worse than just a haunting.

In the fifth segment called "10/31/98" we meet a group of guys:  Chad (played by Chad Villela), Matt (played by Matt Bettinelli-Oplin), Tyler (played by Tyler Gillett) and Paul (played by Paul Natonek) and they are heading out to party and get into mischief on this Halloween night.  They get more than they bargained for when they accidentally go to the wrong house for a Halloween party and come across a girl (played by Nicole Herb) and try to help her escape what appears to be cult.

Finally we have the surprise ending of "Tape 56" in which we find out definitively what is going on at the old man's house and what happened to the group of guys there.

I liked this one because it is different than other found footage films.  The first person POV was a nice touch but the stories themselves are actually good and unique.  The acting felt very natural even when unnatural things happen.  I liked that each story has a twist to it but please don't watch it just to figure out the twists.  I find that watching movies just to figure out twists completely takes away from the film watching experience.  As an added bonus, the segment titled "10/31/98" had an alternate ending that I marginally preferred to the original ending although I do like the original ending.

Definitely worth watching even if you aren't curious but be warned there is a lot of nudity and graphic violence in this picture considering its premise.